Apparatus for making articles such as glassware



Dec. 10, 1940. I p, DU BOIS 2.224767.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE Filed July 7, 1936 9Sheets-Sheet 1 w N N H INVENTOR Dec. 10, 1940. D. l. DU BOIS- APPARATUSFOR MAKING ARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE Filed July 7, 1956 9 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTOR D. l. DU BOIS APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWAREFiled July 7, 1956 v 9 Shg ets-Sheet s m OF R v 0 QQQ M W W O Y Q AW SQMO f NN Nu d 1.. v. Ll. NM. lllrl A I: Wm L M fly 8mm WM 0 NM K QM Amimwr w Dec. 10, 1940. D. I. DU BOIS 2.2247767 APPARATUS FOR MAKINGARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE INVENTOR Dec 10, 1940. D. I. DU BOIS-APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE Filed July '7, 1936 9Sheets-Sheet 5 l U 7.9 11* 77 76 ELF INVENTOR Dec. 10, 1940. D. l. DUBOIS 2 APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE v Filed July 7,1936 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR Dec. 10, DU s 2,224,767

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTTQLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE Filed July 7, 1956 9Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR Dec. 10, 1940. D. I. DU BOIS APPARATUS FORMAKING ARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE Filed July 7, 1936 I '9 Sheets-Sheet 8Dec. 1940- D. DUBOIS 2224;767

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE I I Filed July 7; 193a 9Sheets-Sheet 9 JZZ INVENTOR Patented Dec. 10,

,uN rEo STATE APPARATUS FOR MAKING ARTICLES SUCH AS GLASSWARE DavidIrvin Du Bois, Millville, N. 1., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Armstrong Cork Con pany, Manheim Township,Lancaster Count Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July1936, sci-151 No. 89307 This invention relatesto controlling stepsinvolved in a' procedurelfor making articles from molten glass and otherviscous and/or plastic materials, and more particularly, to apparatus afor regulating the movement and the characteristics of the materialemployed.

Many'problems arise in the making of articles such as insulators,tableware, etc., from plastic and/or viscous materials andI have foimdthat these problems may be traced directly or indirectly to problems ofcontrol of the various steps involved. I have divided these'controlproblems into three groups, the first is the proper coordination,control and/or phasing of the feeding steps. The second is the propercoordination, control and/or phasing of the forming steps, and the thirdis the proper coordination, etc., of the feeding steps individually andcollectively with respect to the forming steps, and at the same 20 time,with respect to each other.

' apparatus is stopped for repairs or Although it has heretofore beenpossible to deliver gobs to continuously moving mold cups, yet thedemands of control involved have limited the flexibility of operation ofthis type of appa- 'ratus, and this is particularly true, since underpresent day conditions, it is, necessary to provide apparatus capable offorming, a wide variety of articles of various shapes, lengths, widths,weights, and/or characteristics.

In considering the problems of control, it must m be understood that; Ihave reference to control that may beaccomplished while the apparatus isin operation. This is especially important from the standpoint ofthefeeding apparatus which includes an impeller, shears, and an ori-Yfice for supplying the material That is, it issimportant to maintain thefeeding apparatus in operation at all times, even when the forming:-

for a change of mold size 'or shape. If the feeding operation Previousto my invention, the problems have stopped, the glass or other materialwill tend. not been attacked from the standpoint of con-f4 to freeze,and hence necessitate considerable trol alone, but have beenconfused,'misunder--"'; work stood, and/orsubmerged behind the cloak ofaseeming need for a change in the construction of the elements used inthe feeding and/or thejj orifice.

forming operations, such as theimpeller, theinection fi' Previous to myinvention, it hasbeen common,

shears, etc. However, I- have found that any su1table type of feeding orforming elements may be controlled in such a manner that the problemsinvolved are/very definitely solved. I

I,.havelrparticular reference to the problems which arise in connectionwith a'continuously moving forming machine: and an automatic 5 feederthat intermittently feeds successive gobs or gathers of the material.The advantages of such a type of machine are well known to the art andneed not be here reiterated. However, it is also true that the problemsof control in-. 40 volved in such a type of machine are more com plexthan those involved in an intermittent-machine, since a charge or gob ofmaterial must be fed or delivered to the molds while the latter aremoving.

Questions of temperature, pressure head, degree of plasticityo rviscosity, size, shape, weight, etc goj thg material must all beconsidered,..=panticularly in connection with the feeding steps. a Byreference to feeding steps, I include aprop-- er control and delivery ofsuitable shapes and/or sizes of plastic or molten portions of thematerial from an orifice, separating or severing 80bs, gathers, orportions from the main body of the material, and delivering suchseparated portions to the forming apparatus.

' p actice t Phas durin upon the supposition that plastic and/or viscousmaterials. I

before normal operation can be restored. In general, any stoppage offeeding changes the temperature conditions at or adjacent to the Manyother troubles arise in this conwhich are well known to the art. s

0 only vary the impeller timing or,

g the operation of the machine 4 the size, shape, form, etc.,"of'the gobor portion of the material fed to the 'ii'i'plds" was'f,dependent priml' y upon the operation offthe im ller. However, I find that the shearopeigatior is just as important as the impeller in this' connction, andfurther, that a control for merely'changing the phase relationshipbetween the impeller and some other operativ e parts of the machine isnot enough to meet the problems involved. For example, the temperature,the physical and/,9; chemical characteristics, the pressure head, etc.,of the glass or other material in the forehearth may vary during theoperation of the machine with the result that the articles formed willlack uniformity and may even be deformed or improperly shaped under theconditions of control heretofore possible of accomplishment during thecontinuous operation of an apparatus.

land, in view of theseand many '0 ,er considerations, it has been anobject of my invention .to provide improvements of'control in connectionwith apparatus for making articles from Another obi ect'of my inventionhas been the provision of phase control apparatus for meeting thepreviously enumerated problems.

Another object has been the provision of individual phase controlfeatures for the operative 5 elements of an automatic feed mechanism anda continuously -movable forming apparatus.

A further object has been to provide a' more flexible, 'sensitive and/oreffective means 1 for controlling the operative relationships between 10elements of feeding and of article forming apparatus.

A still further object has been to provide an article making machine ofimproved operative and/or structural characteristics.

15 These and many other objects of my invention will appear to thoseskilled in the art from the following description of my invention takenin view of the drawings and the claims.

In carrying out my invention, I preferably drive a forming machine andan automatic feeding mechanism-through the agency of a com mon primemover. The forming machine continuously rotated and suitable drivingconnections are interposed between the forming machine and the automaticfeeding mechanism.

I also suitably interpose timing apparatus between driving connections.mechanism preferably includes a suitable feed orifice, an impeller orplunger for controlling the 30 masses or for segregating gobs or gathersof plastic or viscous material from the batch in the forehearth adjacentthe orifice, and also includes a shear mechanism for separating orsegregating gathers or gobs from the main body or- 35 batch of thematerial.

For purposes of illustration, I have shown the principles of myinvention embodied in an apparatus for forming glassware. However, itwill be understood that my invention may be ap- 4o plied to any suitableapparatus employing fluid,

viscous, and/or plastic materials for .forming articles.

' In the .process of shaping articles, a gob, mass,

or charge is segregated from a parent body pf 5 the' plastic or moltenmass by an impeller and after having been suitably proportioned orsized, is severed and either dropped directly into -a mold beneath thefeeding mechanism, or is guided by a. trough or some similar means into50 a mold. The forming apparatus includes a' plurality of molds mountedon a rotatable support.

in order that a succession of molds may be moved 7 into chargereceiving, forming, 'and delivering positions. After charges in themolds have been 55 suitably formed or pressed, the molds may be openedand a take-off mechanism employed. The novel features of myinvention canbe applied to any suitable type of forming mechanism. Further, inaccordance with my invention, I

' 60 p eferably drive the shears and the impeller or plunger from thesame drive 'shaftjand interpose timing or phase change apparatus betweenthe drive shaft and each of these :mechanisms. Phase-change structuresare located, constructed, and operated in such a manner that the Lshears and impeller may be separately adjusted for periodicity and mayalso be adjusted as a unit for periodicity with reterenceto' otherapparatus such as the forming mechanism.. Also, 70 in accordance with myinvention, the phasing between the forming machine and the feedermechanism as a whole may-be changed during thecontinuous operation. ofthe apparatus.

In view of the provision of-the above fea- 75 tures of control, and alsoof them in combina- The automatic feed line VI-.-VI of Figure 13;

tion with a clutch interposed between the driving connectionsof theprime mover and the forming machine, I have been able to accomplish aflexibility of control heretofore thought to be impossible, and theresults are indeed 6 astonishing. Among the changes possible in view ofmy invention are changes in: the phasing between the feeder mechanism asa whole and the forming mechanism, the phasing of the impeller withrespect to the shears independently or dependently of the formingmechanism, the phasing ofthe shears with respect to the impellerdependently or independently of the forming mechanism, the phasing ofthe shears with respect to the forming mechanism dependently 15 orindependently of the phasing of the impeller, and the phasing of theimpeller to the forming mechanism dependently or independently of theshear mechanism. The phasing between shears and the impeller may beadjustetd and controlled while the automatic feeding mechanism isoperating and while .the forming mechanism is idle.

' Based-upon the above features of control, I

have been able to provide acharge of glass or some othersuitable'viscous or plastic material adjacent the plunger or impellerwhose size, shape, outline, characteristics, etc., may be effectivelycontrolled during the continuous operation of the machine irrespectiveof temperature, pressure head, and other physical and/or chemicalchanges in the batch of glass.

'1 have also been able to so control the shearing, or gob separatingoperations that .the gob controlling, forming, or segregating action 0f5 the impeller may be supplemented and aided by the action of the shearmechanism. As a result, I have been able to provide glass masses,charges, or separated portions of the material which have the exactphysical characteristics 40 desired and which characteristics are thebest for forming a particular type of article.

It is also true that I have been able during long periods of operationof the article making .machine, to continuously accomplish formingoperations and to successively provide articles having a high degree ofuniformity and regularity. As a result, the forming of defective ornon-uniform articles is a thing of the past.

Referring to the drawings: 50.

Figure 1 is a plan showing article forming apparatus and a drivingmechanism constructed in accordance with the principles of myinvendriving connections for the feeder mechanism;

Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged horizontal sections showing structuraldetails and taken on the axis of shafts ill and I4, respectively;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a clutch shift mechanism taken along theline V-V of Figure 1; i

Figure 6 is a front elevation in secti/on on the Figure 7 is a partialsectional elevation of a detail and taken along the li ne VII-VII ofFigure 8; v t Figure 8 is a partial plan section showing thevdetail ofFigure 'l and taken along the line VIII-VI1I of Figure 6;

Figure 9, is a partial side section in elevation taken along the lineIX1X of Figure 6;

I is flournaled within the left hand portion of the.

. ure 12; and

Figure 14 is a partial sectional elevation taken from the rear of thefeeder and showing a plunger or impeller feed apparatus.

In the plan view of Figure 1, I disclose a common motivating mechanismor prime mover for glass feeding and forming apparatus. I have shown asuitable mount structure for the entire machine, which includes a basemember I having suitable wheels 2, in order that it may be moved fromplace to place in the shop. A prime mover which is indicated as a motor3, is provided with a primary drive shaft 4, and is connected to a gearreduction unit 5 and a secondary drive shaft 6 that is journaled withina gear box I. The secondary shaft 6 has a pinion 8 keyed thereto andmeshing with a gear 9 that is keyed to a tertiary drive shaft Ill. Thetertiary'drive shaft I0 is in two parts that are connected together by asuitable coupling I I the right hand part has a worm l2 secured theretowhich drives a worm ear wheel l3 that is rotatably journaled on aforming table drive shaft l4. The worm gear l3 (see particularly Figures4 and 5) is provided with a hub portion I5 having clutch'teeth "3 thatengage with clutch teeth I! of a movable clutch member l8 that isslidably splined to the table drive shaft 14. The extreme end of thetable drive shaft I4 is provided with a beveled gear l9 meshing with aring gear 29 (see Figure 1) that is removably secured to a rotatablemold or forming table 20a. A plurality of molds 29b are carried on thetable 20a.

As seen particularly in Figure '5, the tertiary drive shaft ill willdrive the table drive shaft l4 when the teeth. 11 of the clutch memberl9 have been moved into meshing engagement with the teeth I6. Toaccomplish this shifting action, any suitable mechanism may be employed,and for the purpose of illustration, I have shown a simple form ofmanual control mechanism which includes a pair of oppositely-positionedshift.

levers 2| that are plvotally mounted at 22 on a bifurcated extension ofthe gear box 1. A hand lever 23 is secured to the pair of shift levers2| by the shaft 22. The other end of each shift lever 2| is providedwith .clutch operating pins 210. which are adapted to ride in an annulargroove of the. slidable clutch member l6. A

spring 25 normally maintains the clutch out of a meshing relationship,and a pin or cotter26is employed adapted to cooperate with a hole '2'3ain the lever 23 and holes 21a in'a bracket 21 for holding the arm ineither of its two positions, that is, with the clutch teeth in meshedposition and in disengaged position respectively! As willbe seen fromthe drawings, the clutch connections are such that the table drive shaftl4 can only be reconnectedto the tertiary drive member I in the sametime or phase relationship as'before.

As seen in Figures 1 and 3, the shaft I 0 is journaled within bearings28 of the gear box I and within bearings 29 of a transmission box 39. Abevel gear 3! is keyed to the left end of the shaft I0 and is journaledby the bearings 29 within a trunnion bearing member or differentialcontrol housing 32 that is adjustably mounted within the transmissionbox 30. A short control shaf tg34 the base I.

49 may be swung about the shaft -46 and the trunnion member 32 and atone end has a bevel gear 35 keyed thereto that is similar to the bevelgear 3! on the shaft l0. Extending radially of the housing 32 is a pairof oppositely-positioned removable stud shafts 36 upon eacli'liof whichis journaled a bevel gear 36a which meshes'with the bevel gears 3| and35 of the shafts l0 and 34, respectively. The other end of the shortcontrol shaft 34 is provided with a bevel gear 31 that is manuallyturned or rotated by hand wheel 40a.

Since, for the purpose of feeding viscous or plastic materials, it isdesirable to mount the feeding mechanism on an upward level or planewith respect to the forming mechanism, I have provided a drive structurefor connecting the phase change transmission of Figure 3 with thedriving mechanism of the shears and the impeller, see particularlyFigure 2. This mechanism includes a bevel gear removably secured-to thelower end of a vertical shaft 42 and operatively engaging the beveldrive gear 31. A beveled gear 43 is removably secured to the other endof the shaft .42 and cooperates with a bevel gear 44 of a horizontaltelescopic shaft. This shaft includes slidable portions 45 and 46. Abevel gear 41 is removably mounted on the extending end of shaft 46 andmeshes with a .bevel gear 48 that is secured to a vertical telescopicshaft 49. The vertical shaft 49 is connected through a flexible coupling50 to the lower end of a feed mechanism drive shaft 5|.

As seen, suitable bearings 52 are provided for journaling the shafts 34,42, 45-46, 49 and 5|; The vertical shaft 42 and the horizontal shaft45-46 are held in an operative relationship by a journal box 53 that isswiveled to a vertical housing 54 extending from the base I of themachine. In a like manner, the other end of the horizontal shaft 45-46and the lower end'of the vertical shaft 49 are journaled within a secondjournal box 55 that is swiveled-about a vertically adjustable pedestalmember 56 which is mounted in a bearing member 56a slidably adjustableon a slide member 56b which is also slidably adjustable in a right angledirection on a guide -la of It will thus be seen that the shaft shaft45-46 may be swiveled about the shaft 42, thus permitting the feedingmechanism to be properly aligned with referenceto the differential drivemechanism. The shaft portion 45 is slidably splined-to the hollow shaftportion 46 in order to permit horizontal movement of theshaft and theshaft 49 is of similar telescopic construction to permit verticaladjustment of it.

Drive mechanism for the feeding apparatus As shown particularly inFigures 6, 10, 12, and 14, Iintermittently' feed segregated portions orgobs of the plastic or viscous material, and intermittently cut off orseparate each. of these portions from the batch. As previously pointedout, eachseparated portion is delivered toa mold or blank and is thensuitably formed. Animpeller or plunger 80 segregates and/or forms thegobs of material andfeeds them from an orifice. A pair of shears I30cuts off the gobs from the main body of the batch of material and aidsin forming and/or feeding the gobs to the mold or blank of a suitablearticle forming apparatus.

In order to effectively and positivelycontrol the operations of theimpeller 80 independently of as well as concurrently with the operationsof the shears I30, I drive both from the same drive shaft 5| through theagency of independent cam means for each. Phase change or timing controlmechanism .is interposed between the impeller 80 and the drive shaft aswell as between the shears I30 and the drive shaft. In this manner, I amable to positively and efiectively control the timing of the shearsindependently of the forming apparatus and/or independently of theimpeller, and vice versa. For example. the control of the variousoperations is so complete that the shears can be utilized to accomplishentirely new functions. The ultimate result, of course; is that betterand more uniform articles are produced.

The actuating mechanism includes a worm shaft 80 that is driven by thevertical shaft 5| through the agency of helical gears BI and 62, seeFigure 9. The worm shaft 60, which is shown as the left hand shaft ofFigures 10 and 11, is journaled by suitable bearings 88 within a gearbox 84, see Figure 6, and is provided with a pinion 65 meshing with asimilar pinion 08 keyed to a secondary or driven worm shaft 00'. Thelatter shaft 60' is Journaled in a similar manner! within the gearbox 84and is thus driven in a timed relationship with the shaft 80 through theagency of pinions 05 and 68. a

The left hand worm shaft 00 of Figures 10 and 11 is provided with a worm88 slidably splined thereto and meshing with a worm gear 68 (see alsoFigure 6) that is provided with a hub portion 10 for removablysupporting a shear control cam disk 1|. The assembly which includes theshear control cam II and the shear control worm gear 69 is rotatablymounted upon' a journal shaft 12 extending across the gear box 84. In asimilar manner, the secondary worm shaft 80' is provided with a worm 88'that meshes with a plunger control worm gear 89' which is provided witha hubportion 10' upon which is adjustablyand removably mounted a plungercontrol cam 13. The latter assembly which includes the gear 80' an theassociated.cam 13 are also rotatably mo nted upon the ioumal shaft 12.

The phase change or timing mechanism In order to addust the timingrelationship be- An adjusting shaft 10 is threaded within the block "andis provided with a scaled indicator disk "10 having gear teeth 11. Thethreaded adjustmentshaft 15 is rotatably mounted to extend through theopposite walls of the gear box 84 and is held in position at one end bythe indicator disk 18 and at the other side by a small annulus 18. Itshould be noted that the disk 10 is securely but removably mounted onthe shaft 15 for rotation therewith. The worm 88* for driving theimpeller cam 18 is in a like manner adjusted by'a threaded shaft 10'.However. this shaft 10' extends beyond the" shaft 15, and

is provided with a scaled indicator disk or pinion member 18' havingpinion teeth 11-. The pinion member 16' is rotatably mounted on itsaxial shaft 15 and its teeth 11' mesh with the teeth 11 of the disk 16.A compression clutchelement 82 is slidably keyed to a reduced extension15'a 'of the shaft 15' and is provided with projecting clutch teeth 83that are adapted to cooperate and engage with clutch teeth 84 of anannulus 85 proiecting from the face of the pinion 16'. The clutchelement 82 is secured to 'a sleeve-like annulus member 8| that is alsosecured to hand wheel 18' and is slidably splined on shaft extension15'a to provide a telescopic connection therewith. Pointers 18" and 18cooperate with the scaled indicator disks 18 and 16, respectively. Itwillthus be seen that the timing relationship between the worm 68 andthe cam drive worm gear 80 may be controlled by turning the hand wheel19 and thus the threaded shaft 15, to move the block or yoke 14, andthus tomove the worm 88 along a keyway in its actuating shaft 80. In asimilar manner, the timing between the worm 88' and the gear-80' may becontrolled by actuating the hand wheel 19'. It will also appear that theadjustment *of the wheel 10" for controlling. the timinglor phasingbetween the main driving shaft BI and the impeller is entirelyindependent of any adjustment of the mechanism 18 which controls thetiming between the drive shaft II and the shears I30. However, bothadjustments can be accomplished simultaneously by pushing the wheel 10'inwardly/so as to move extension shaft 10'a within the annulus 82. Anexpansion spring 86 normally holds the clutch element 82 in an unlockedrelationship with respect to the pinion 18 and it will'thus be seen thatan inward movement of the clutch member 82 will cause the teeth 84 and83 to engage and produce a rotation of the \isk 18' of theimpellercontrol mechanism and thus, in turn, of the disk 16 of the shearcontrol mechanism.

The plunger operating mechanism in an opening formed in the arm and heldin place by a clamp member an a thumb knurl nut 95.

As shown particularly in Figures 12 and"14, one end of the arm 8i haspivotal connection with a rod 81 which slides vertically in spaced guidebearings adjusted to be clamped to bracket 88.' The pin 80 is used as afulcrum point in case of changing an impeller or the like and normallythe reciprocations of the arm 81 are vertical under the actuatingconnection hereinafter described. This construction permits the arm.0lto be adjusted laterally in one direction to centralize the 'plungerwith respect to the outlet ring or orifice I3I by sliding the arm on thebracket 88 or by swinging it on the rod 81,.or by 70 The collar 89 andits associatedparts are ad- 7 ment by suitable collars.

screw passes through a horizontal slot in the collar in which it is heldfrom longitudinal move- By turning the screw IOI, the arm may beadjusted transversely 'by swinging it about the upper end of the rod98a. The arm 9| is preferably clamped in position after adjustment by awing nut I02 threaded on top of the rod ST and bearing on a clamp I03and by a wing nut I04 threaded on the top of the post 900..

The rod 91 passes through a slot in the arm 9| in such a manner thatwhen the wing nut I02 is loosened, the arm 9| may be slid upon orpivoted about the *upper end of the rod 91. When the wing nut I02 isloosened, the clamp may be turned lengthwiseof the arm and this permitsit .to be lifted without moving the nut or the clamp from the rod 91.The lower end of the post 98a projects downwardly and is engaged in abearing I05 in order to prevent it from turning and thereby displacingthe plunger. I have shown graduations I06 which indicate the verticalposition of the plunge with respect to the outlet.

I also provide an arm I01 which has suitable structure for removablysupporting a plunger tube I08. The above details have been merely setforth to explain the structure disclosed and they are only suggestedarrangementsthat are not important to the present invention, since othersuitable structures may be employed for supporting a plunger mechanism.

As shown particularly in- Figure 14, the plunger arm 9| and theassociated plunger are reciprocated through a link I09, a two-partrocker arm H0, alink III, a link H2, and a roller H3 which operativelyengages the cam disk I3. As seen, the rocker arm H0 includes two partswhich are pivotally connected together and areadjustably held in a givenrelationship with respect to each other by a thumb nut H4 which isthreaded to screw within a bifurcated portion I I5 of one portion of thearm to abut against a tail H6 of the other portion of the arm. A screwnut II! is adapted to hold the adjustment screw H4 in a given adjustedposition. The nut H4 accomplishes an adjustment of the .lowcr limit ofmovement of the plunger 90.

It will also be seen that the connection between the rocker arm H0 andthe link III' is an adjustable one through the agency of an adjustingscrew H8 which shifts the upper end of the link III alonga slot in thearm H0. The connection comprises a pin threaded and having a hand nutH9, see particularly Figure 13, bearing against a collar which clampsthe arm between a head on the pin and the collar. The screw II 8controls or adjusts the upper limit of movement of the plunger 90. I

The link HI is at its other end pivotally mounted on a shaft I I la. ofa radius arm I20 that is pivoted at I2I to the housing portion I22. Thesecond link I I2 is at one end pivoted to the radius arm I20 by the pinII Ia, and at its other end, pivotally supports a roller H3 and ispivotally connected to a secondary radius arm I24 that is also pivotallymounted on the casing I22. *As seen, an upper edge of the primary radiusarm I20 is notched to receive a hooked portion of a lock lever I25 thatis also pivotally mounted on the casing I22. To lock the plunger in anin- 7 operative position, it is only necessary to move the I set screws13a; it may also be adjusted along 5 the face of such support.

The shear mechanism The charges, gathers, or glass gobs produced bysuccessive operations of the plunger are severed by a shear mechanismwhich is adapted to operate in a timed relationship with respect to theplunger mechanism. Shear blades I30 are mounted to reciprocate below anoutlet ring I3I, see Figures 12, 13, and 14. Provision adjusting theshears I30 to and from the outlet' and for adjusting one shear bladewith relation to the other, in order to bring them into a propershearing relationship before the operation of the feeding mechanism isinitiated. The blades are mounted on two-part armsl33 which oscillateabout parallel axes under the front of the forehearth. a

Shear arms I33are fixed on lower ends of is made for 15 shafts I34 thatare pivotally mounted in the front 25 of a bowl casing I35. The sheararms I33 are connected to move together by gear segments I36 mounted inthe. forked ends of the respective arms. They are operated in theirsevering movement by springs I31 as shown particularly in Figures 12 and13. In their opening movement, they are actuated by the link I 32 whichhas a universal joint connection with the right hand arm I33, seeparticularly Figure 12. The arm I32 is actuated by a verticallyextending lever I38 that is 4 When it is desired to change the level ofthe o severing plane so as to cut closer to or farther from the outlet,both shear blades are adjusted together in order to preserve theircutting relationship. This vertical adjustment is provided 50 bymounting the shear carrying shafts I34 in sleeve-like slides I40 whichare carried in vertical ways formed in the front of the bowl casing I35to which it is secured by jibs I M. The shaft I34 that carries the lefthand shear arm shown in 55- Figure 12 is provided with suitableanti-friction bearings mounted directly in the slide I40. However, theright hand shaft I34 is not mounted directly in the slide, but iscarried by an auxiliary sleeve I42 in order to permit adjustment of 6this shear blade with relation to the other. This sleeve is mounted in'such a manner that longitudinal movement is-permitted by the end cap I43which engages the top of the upper bearings I44. The lower bearings areindicated by the 65 numeral I45. The sleeve I42 carries a projecting lugI46 that is threaded to receive an adjustment screw I41 mounted in theslide I40. The screw is provided with a hand wheel by which it may beturned to move the sleeve I42 vertically 7 in the slide I40 and thus toadjustlone shear blade vertically with reference to the other.

A latch member I50 has been provided for holding the shears in aninoperative position when desired. Some suitable form of means may bealso provided for cooling shears and. if it is desirable, forhorizontally adjusting one blade with respect to the other. However,these features are all well known to the art and need not here be setforth since they constitute no part of the present invention.

From the above descriptio it will thus appear that the shears may bepreliminarily adjusted to operate in a suitable manner with respect toeach other and may, in accordance with the present invention, also beadjusted to change their phasing or timing with relation to the plunger,former, and other apparatus during a continuous operation of the-feedinmechanism.

In the operation of the machine, the plunger mechanism periodicallyprovides gobs or gathers adjacent the orifice which are periodicallysevered by the shears and suitably delivered tov the forming apparatus.By reason of thetimingcontrol features previously pointed out, I am ableto set the plunger or impeller 90 to provide a definite length, shape,and/or weight of gob by phasing it with respect to the forming machine20a and to then set the shears in such a manner as to cause theseverance of gobs in the exact phasing previously set between theplunger and the forming machine, or desired, to cause the severancebefore or after he phasing previously set. In this manner, the formingand feeding mechanism can be quickly adjusted during the operation ofthe machine to obtain almost any combination of results.

mass at just the instant the impeller has properly shaped and projectedit, such that the shears do not contribute to the shape, length, etc.,of the gather received by the mold table: or, the shears may be adjustedto cut the mass before the impeller has finished shaping and projectingit, for example, before an elongated neck has been formed by the mass ofsegregated material, to produce stubby cut-off portions; or the shearsmay be adjusted to cut\the mass at a period of time after the impellerhas finished its operation or during its retractive movement, forexample, after the segregated mass hasv elongated considerably, toproduce a fine cut and/or a slender gather. Thus, the shears may beemployed to contribute to or to offset the ordinary operation oftheimpeller or may be employed to exactly coincide with the phasing ofthe impeller-the breadth and sensitiveness of control make possibleexceptionally minute phasing changes to meet any working conditions. Ifde'- sired, the shears may be first timed to the movement .of the moldtable and the impeller independently after-timed or phased. It will beapparent to those skilled-in the art'that the forming machinephase-change transmission type of differential may be termed a so-calledcontinuous full cycle or full phase-change-differential. That is, it canbe continuously rotated in one direction to change the phaserelationship between the feeding and forming mechanisms through acomplete cycle of changes back to the original relationship- It willalso be pp e t is Dhase-chans'e tron type of differential enables theoperator to adjust the machine, in order that the relatively fineadjustment type of difierentials (for the plunger and shear mechanisms)may operate on the desired scale range. A worm gearing is used to obtainhigh ratios, to transmit power, and to obtain smoothness of action plusa self-locking relationship. Thus, it win be apparent that the In otherwords, theshears may be adjusted to cut the segregated used for theplunger in effect, a micrometer preferred form of my invention, as wellas in theprocedure set forth and the specific details thereof, withoutdeparting from the invention intended to be defined in the claims.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Ser. No.66,318, filed February 24, 1936 which in turn is a continuation in partof my divisional application 624,713 filed July 26, 1932 which was adivision of my original application Ser. No. 462,802 filed June 21, 1930which matured into Patent No. 2,052,343 dated August 25, 1936.

I claim:

1. In a machine for manufacturing articles from viscous or plasticmaterial such as molten glass, mass feed means, mass severing means,mass forming means, and individual means for timing the operation ofeach of said above-mentioned means as a whole independently of theoperation of another of said means while the machine is in operation.

2. In an apparatus for feeding a viscous or plastic material such asmolten glass from a container in successive masses and for controllingthe shape, weight, and characteristics of the masses and for forming themasses thus fed, a feeder mechanism, 'a forming mechanism, operatingmeans for driving said feeder and formin mechanisms, atransmission-differential phasechange apparatus for changing the timingrelationship between said forming mechanism and said feeder mechanism, aworm and a worm gear operatively meshing in relation to each other andconnecting said transmission differential phase change means to saidfeeder mechanism, and means for changing the phase relationship betweensaid worm and worm gear.

3. In an apparatus for feeding a viscous or plastic material such asmolten glass from a container in successive masses and for controllingthe shape, weight, and characteristics of the masses and for forming themasses thus fed, a feeder mechanism including a plunger and a severingmeans, a forming mechanism, operating means, said operating means beingoperatively-connected to said forming mechanism, atransmission-differential phase change means operatively-connected tosaid forming mechanism, a pair of worms operatively connected to saidtransmission-differential, a worm gear operatively meshing with each ofsaid worms, one of said worm gears being connected to said severingmeans and the other of said worm gears being operatively-connected tosaid plun er, and means for moving said worms differentially withrespect to their respective worm gears for adjusting the phaserelationships between said shear means and said plunger and said formingmec anism.

4. a machine for feeding a viscous or plastic material such as moltenglass in successive masses, having a controlled shape, weight, andcharacteristics and for forming the masses thusfed, an automatic feedingmechanism having a pair of operative elements, a continuously mov-,. ingarticle forming mecha a prime mover for actuating said said article forming mechanisms, elements operatively connecting said prime mover andsaid article forming mechanism and connecting said prime mover and saidfeeding mechanism, phase control apparatus having a cycle'range of phasecontrol for varying the phase relationship between said article formingmechanism and said feeding mechanism as a whole, and additional fineadjustment phase control apparatus for changing the phase relationshipindependently between .said elements of said feeding mechanism andbetween saidfeeding mechanism as a unit and said article formingmechanism, said additional apparatus being adjusted independently ofsaid first-mentioned phase change apparatus.

5. In an apparatus for intermittently feeding plastic or viscousmaterials such as molten glass, a feeder mechanism which includes animpeller and severingmeans, actuating means for said.

feeder mechanism, a primary drive shaft operably connected to saidactuating means, a cam shaft, a pair of cams rotatably mounted on saidcam shaft, one of said cams being operably connected to said impellerand the other of said cams being operably connected to said severingmeans, a secondary drive shaft operabiy connected to said primary driveshaft, a pair of meshing gear elements operably connecting one of saidshafts to one of said cams, and a second pair of meshing gear eleinentsoperably connecting the other of said shafts to the other of said cams,and means to change the phase relation between said pairs of gearelements while they are being driven by said actuating means.

6. In an apparatus for intermittently feeding plastic or viscousmaterials such as molten glass, a feeder mechanism which includes animpeller and severing means, actuating means for said feeder mechanism,a primary drive shaft operably connected to said actuating means, a camshaft, a pair of cams rotatably mounted on said cam shaft, one of saidcams being operably connected to said impeller and the other of saidcams being operably connected to said severing means, a secondary driveshaft operably conactuating means, and individual manual control meansoperating each of said threaded shafts, so that the phase relation ofsaid impeller may be changed independently of said severing means andvice versa, and clutch means to operate said threaded'shafts together,so that the relation of said impeller and of said severing means may bechanged simultaneously.

DAVID IRVIN DU B018.

